As a Christian, I am uncomfortable worshipping objects

2seaoat wrote:I have Christian faith, but at times I just am disgusted by the disconnect with the bible and the conduct of men who claim they are rabbis, ministers, or priests.  Matthew six which I have found to be the most important nexus with my faith, condemns those who pray the loudest to put on a show of their piety, and it is written that false idols should not be worshiped, yet I am watching people touch the wailing wall as if this is some type of portal which is controlled by man, and is fought  for in politics and war.  Matthew six tells us each of us has a direct line to God and I believe that NO man can comprehend the same, so these so called men of god hijack the message and try to qualify and control other men by manipulation of their role of connecting you to God if you act or do something in compliance with man made rules.   WTF is touching a wall have to do with our connection with God and the world around us.  Why do politicians insist to use religion to gain the power they require?  I understand traditions, but somewhere over time we have crucified the messenger and replaced the message with superstition and the worship of stale idols and relics.   I simply cannot reconcile this conduct with my understanding of Matthew six.

2seaoat wrote:  Why do politicians insist to use religion to gain the power they require?  

Telstar wrote:...OWHA...TAGOO...SEIAM...

2seaoat wrote:I have Christian faith, but at times I just am disgusted by the disconnect with the bible and the conduct of men who claim they are rabbis, ministers, or priests.  Matthew six which I have found to be the most important nexus with my faith, condemns those who pray the loudest to put on a show of their piety, and it is written that false idols should not be worshiped, yet I am watching people touch the wailing wall as if this is some type of portal which is controlled by man, and is fought  for in politics and war.  Matthew six tells us each of us has a direct line to God and I believe that NO man can comprehend the same, so these so called men of god hijack the message and try to qualify and control other men by manipulation of their role of connecting you to God if you act or do something in compliance with man made rules.   WTF is touching a wall have to do with our connection with God and the world around us.  Why do politicians insist to use religion to gain the power they require?  I understand traditions, but somewhere over time we have crucified the messenger and replaced the message with superstition and the worship of stale idols and relics.   I simply cannot reconcile this conduct with my understanding of Matthew six.

Waiting wrote:
You're a Christian and it bothers you that someone else worships in a way that is foreign to you.  Of course, I am sure that your complaint is a swipe at Trump as he professed to being Christian, but for Muslims and Jews, having a sitting POTUS at the Wailing Wall is a big deal.  Why does it pain you so much that he goes to the Wailing Wall during his stay in Israel?  Are you hurt in any way by it? Are your beliefs compromised in any way by his actions?  Can you look the other way if it bothers you so much?  Seriously, you liberals would complain if Trump found a cure for AIDS and Cancer saying it would put doctors out of work.  

del.capslock wrote:

Waiting wrote:
You're a Christian and it bothers you that someone else worships in a way that is foreign to you.  Of course, I am sure that your complaint is a swipe at Trump as he professed to being Christian, but for Muslims and Jews, having a sitting POTUS at the Wailing Wall is a big deal.  Why does it pain you so much that he goes to the Wailing Wall during his stay in Israel?  Are you hurt in any way by it? Are your beliefs compromised in any way by his actions?  Can you look the other way if it bothers you so much?  Seriously, you liberals would complain if Trump found a cure for AIDS and Cancer saying it would put doctors out of work.  

He's talking about Matthew 6:5-9, you moron, not about Trump being at the Wailing Wall. It's about making a big show of praying in public. Jesus, read the goddamn verses, you stupid shit.

Telstar wrote:...OWHA...TAGOO...SEIAM...

zsomething wrote:My personal faith says that we write our wishes on jellybeans and shoot them at the sky with a slingshot.  This is both how we talk to our god (his name is Harold), and feed him.  (He and I both really like those black jellybeans.  If you don't, you're going to Goomus when you die.  Goomus is Harold-the-jellybeangod's hell.  It's not as bad as the Christian hell, with all that fire and pitchfork business, but it is rather itchy, and the TV only gets those shopping networks.  And there's this guy there, Gary, who never stops talking about the band, Rush.  I mean, I like Rush okay and all, but, god, Gary is an asshole, he never shuts up!).

Even if you don't believe it, you have to respect my faith.  And, help finance it by giving it tax-exempt status.  And it'd be nice if you opened your door to our missionaries when they ride by on their pogo sticks, handing out literature at four o'clock Tuesday morning (which is known as "Harold's Hour" and is sacred, as is decreed by I Cretins, 7:11).  If you don't, you're going to Goomus.  I hope Trump's going to shoot some jellybeans at the sky when he gets back, or we're really going to be offended.   And you don't want to offend us, because we're better than you, praise Harold.

zsomething wrote:My personal faith says that we write our wishes on jellybeans and shoot them at the sky with a slingshot.  This is both how we talk to our god (his name is Harold), and feed him.  (He and I both really like those black jellybeans.  If you don't, you're going to Goomus when you die.  Goomus is Harold-the-jellybeangod's hell.  It's not as bad as the Christian hell, with all that fire and pitchfork business, but it is rather itchy, and the TV only gets those shopping networks.  And there's this guy there, Gary, who never stops talking about the band, Rush.  I mean, I like Rush okay and all, but, god, Gary is an asshole, he never shuts up!).

Even if you don't believe it, you have to respect my faith.  And, help finance it by giving it tax-exempt status.  And it'd be nice if you opened your door to our missionaries when they ride by on their pogo sticks, handing out literature at four o'clock Tuesday morning (which is known as "Harold's Hour" and is sacred, as is decreed by I Cretins, 7:11).  If you don't, you're going to Goomus.  I hope Trump's going to shoot some jellybeans at the sky when he gets back, or we're really going to be offended.   And you don't want to offend us, because we're better than you, praise Harold.

Sal wrote:

Telstar wrote:...OWHA...TAGOO...SEIAM...

Every fucking time I think that this nightmare has become as surreal as it could possibly get, something like this surfaces.

The full pic is even weirder ...

2seaoat wrote:This is why Seaoat complains. He sees it as showing off per the scripture. That's his opinion. Now that you have been enlightened, find another to try and insult.



I just do not get it.  Matthew 6 tells you we have a direct link, so why a note hidden in a crack in a wall.  It is like somebody decided to make the Pensacola Beach fishing pier a sacred place and you catch and release a fish with a prayer stuffed in the fish.  It is no more bizarre than what is passing for religious traditions.  Hypocrisy.  Nothing more or less.  False idols and religious leaders telling folks they have to fight for something because God is on our side.  I really  do not want to condemn folk's faith, but the people who manipulate the same, are often the lowest creatures in the universe.

Waiting wrote:

He's not practicing Judaism or Islam. He just went to the Wailing  Wall like those folks do over there showing his willingness to try and respect their customs even if it doesn't fit in with his beliefs.  I highly doubt he is showing off in prayer as you state he is or you think he is.  You do know the historical connection between Jews and Christians, right?

del.capslock wrote:

Waiting wrote:

He's not practicing Judaism or Islam. He just went to the Wailing  Wall like those folks do over there showing his willingness to try and respect their customs even if it doesn't fit in with his beliefs.  I highly doubt he is showing off in prayer as you state he is or you think he is.  You do know the historical connection between Jews and Christians, right?

First off, the difference between ultra-Orthodox Jews and Wahabist Muslims is vanishingly insignificant. The black-hatter mystical Hasidim are as a big source of problems in the mid-east as the extremist Wahabis.

Praying at the Wailing Wall is as crazy a religious superstition as walking around the Kaaba during a Hajj and they're both as ridiculous as examining the entrails of a goat to divine the future. Insane beliefs like those--as well as the lunatic notion that prayer is anything but an self-absorbed and selfishly egotistical practice--damage humankind by serving only to separate people into easily identifiable "tribes", by further exacerbating the "them versus us" problem that afflicts mankind.

Pretending that Judaism, Islam and Christianity are anything but a pox on humankind is the original sin. Religion does infinitely more harm to humanity than good--especially the fundamentalist or ultra-orthodox varieties like the Hasidim and Wahabis, both of which Trump just paid obsequious homage to.

Waiting wrote:
If it's all fantasy as you claim, does it hurt you what someone believes as long as they do so peacefully?  

Telstar wrote:...OWHA...TAGOO...SEIAM...

del.capslock wrote:

Waiting wrote:
If it's all fantasy as you claim, does it hurt you what someone believes as long as they do so peacefully?  

Because they DON'T do it peacefully, they inflict this dangerous nonsense on every society precisely by excluding "others" and proclaiming their singular "truth". Religion is, at it's core, an evil and socially destructive practice. ALL RELIGION.

And in this country, the black-hatters are the MOST hateful and destructive.

Waiting wrote:
unhinged much?